1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a processing system and a processing method both of which are capable of dynamically changing from processing one job to processing another one in which application programs and system environment definition are changed, without stopping the service in the processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the increasing of service time and the internationalization of enterprises, it is required that online processing systems are continuously driven for 24 hours every day. In a case where the service to be executed in an online processing system must be changed and extended under a condition where the online system can not be stopped as described above, it is necessary to dynamically replace a job needed to execute the service.
Conventionally, in a case where various environments needed to run application programs for commercial use are changed in an online system, and in a case where the service to be executed in an online system is switched in accordance with periods of time, after a job using the application programs for commercial use is temporarily stopped, the system must be restarted. That is, in the above cases, it is necessary to temporarily stop the service in the online processing system. As a result, a continuous operation for 24 hours without stopping can not be executed.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional process in a case where a job to be processed in the online processing system is replaced. For example, in a case where the service executed by the application programs is extended and/or changed, the process shown in FIG. 1 is executed.
Referring to FIG. 1, in the initial step (a), first, while the system is being operated with a current job which is to be replaced, a new application program 121 by which the service is extended and/or changed is stored in a data set 120. Next, job environment definitions 123 stored in a job definition data set 122 are updated. After this, the current job to be replaced is stopped.
In the next step (b), due to the stopping of the current job to be replaced, the service is temporarily stopped in the online system.
In the last step (c), a new job using the new application program 121 by which the service is extended and/or changed is activated, and the new job is performed by the system.
As has been described above, in order to change the job environment, the service which has been under operation with a current job is stopped, and the service is then restarted with a changed job. In addition, input messages from terminal equipments are distributed to application programs. However, if a plurality of same destination codes identifying an application program exist simultaneously in the system, the messages can not be distributed to the application program. That is, a plurality of jobs using the application program identified by the same destination code can not be simultaneously activated.
A fault tolerant system has been proposed in which a current process is automatically switched to a sub process at a time a fault occurs in the current process. However, the current process and the sub process do not have the same resources, and thus it is necessary for the system to have a detailed interface program for inheriting resources from the current process to the sub processes.